Will a Gluten-Free Diet Help You Lose Weight?

Keri Glassman, RD, Women's Health's nutrition expert, breaks down the latest research on how a gluten-free diet impacts your body

Will a Gluten-Free Diet Help You Lose Weight?Keri Glassman, RD, Women's Health's nutrition expert, breaks down the latest research on how a gluten-free diet impacts your body

Just when you’d finally decided that gluten isn't sabotaging your weight-loss efforts, a new study finds that following a gluten-free diet may slow weight gain—at least in mice. What’s more, previous research has shown that children with celiac disease who start avoiding gluten see their levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, decrease. They also see their levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses appetite, increase. Puzzled by all of the conflicting messages about gluten? It's no wonder—but it helps to take a closer look at the findings.

The research done on children with celiac disease doesn’t necessarily translate to people who don’t have it. Since people with this condition can’t digest and take in the nutrients from food when it contains gluten, their bodies tell them to eat more. It makes sense that their appetite-regulating hormones would return to normal levels when they eliminate gluten from their diets—but whether or not a gluten-free diet will rein in your hunger if you don’t have celiac disease is unclear.

The new mouse study is a little more promising: When the mice eliminated gluten from their diets, their levels of a certain enzyme that breaks down fat increased, resulting in reduced fat mass and fat cell size—despite overeating. This suggests that a gluten-free diet may have a protective effect on body weight.

Of course, since gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, eliminating it from your diet takes cookies, cakes, muffins, pizza, and pasta out of the equation—which will obviously benefit your waistline. That said, ditching gluten doesn’t guarantee you’ll be a healthy weight; some people who don’t consume the protein are still obese. While fruits and vegetables may be healthy, many packaged gluten-free foods you’ll find at the grocery store these days are loaded with just as many calories, added sugars, and fats as their gluten-laden counterparts.

The bottom line: If you’re looking to lose weight, there’s not enough compelling evidence right now to suggest that you'll benefit from going gluten-free. Take a look at the rest of your eating habits first. Your weight gain could have more to do with your addiction to sugar-packed coffee drinks, for example, than with your gluten intake. If you do decide to eliminate gluten from your diet, keep in mind that gluten-free foods are often low in B vitamins, calcium, vitamin D, iron, zinc, magnesium, and fiber—and they can also be expensive. Rely on fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy, and lean meats to get the nutrients you need—and keep your grocery bill in check.